Climate Change, Neurological Disorders and Brain Health: To-Know Concepts and Future Actions by the EAN Environmental Influences in Neurology Task Force.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: While the estimation of the climate change effects is dependent on the models used, there is a growing consensus that emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) cause global warming, resulting in the acceleration of climate change. The degree to which climate change is going to affect the nervous system of healthy individuals and how it may lead to an increase in the prevalence and burden of neurological disorders is presently incompletely understood and studied. It is imperative that the neurological community increases its awareness about climate change and strives for a clear evidence-based consensus on the relationship between climate change and the negative consequences on brain health and neurological disorders.

METHODS

Part I provides a narrative overview of climate change in neurology, whereas Part II focuses on climate change action in neurology.

RESULTS

We provide clinicians and neuroscience stakeholders with tools to understand key concepts at the interface between climate change, neurological disorders, and brain health. Moreover, this paper states priorities in this field for the European Academy of Neurology, through the work of the Environmental Influences in Neurology Task Force, presenting 10 operational areas adapted from the WHO operational framework for building climate-resilient and low-carbon health systems.

CONCLUSION

In the frame of its Brain Health Mission, the European Academy of Neurology is committed to supporting a neurology that is able to understand the impact of climate change and become a climate-resilient neurology to promote health in general and brain health specifically.